Nature through the eyes of my camera

(Monday 29th April. Distance 3.3 miles. Route taken: Thorpeness, Sizewell, coastal. Time taken 1.35hours) It is said, 'A change is as good as a rest' and that was how it felt today. My husband dropped me off  at Thorpness to start my journey to Sizewell. My first image was at The Dolphin Inn which was formally known as The crown. The inn used to be attached to six cottages and when these were knocked down the building was extended with bedrooms to become the Dolphin Inn. The Dolphin Inn was consumed by fire in 1995 and was rebuilt and opened again in 1998. From here I continued onto the heath land where I was met by a mass of yellow bloom and a glorious perfume. The gorse across the heath was in full bloom and there was an abundance of it. The smell became intoxicating and soon made me feel very relaxed. It is good to get out in the open among the smells and calls of the birds and to leave the hum-drum of life at home behind. The chorus from the birds was everywhere. I watched ...

 (Saturday 20th April -3 miles. Aldeburgh, Coastline to Thorpness. Time taken 1hr 30min) I was fortunate to walk this section of the coastal path with my husband as we were able to walk to Thorpeness and back. It was a dry day with a moderate northerly wind making it feel quite chilly as it blew directly into our faces. (Upside was, it would be blowing us back later on). The Scallop was my first stopping place. This iconic shell, rising from the shingle is a tribute to composer, conductor and pianist, Benjamin Britten. He lived in Aldeburgh and walked the coastline from here to Thorpeness most days. Maggi Hambling, a local-born artist and a great fan of Benjamin Britten designed and made the sculpture. Having checked we were going in the right direction we continued on our way. There were a variety of wild flowers growing in the shingle and the gorse was a mass of bloom. There are many houses, large and small, of which several are holiday lets or second homes. I think it would be q...

Wednesday 14th August - Distance 4 miles Route taken: Snape Maltings, River Alde, Snape Marshes, Snape Warren, Blackheath Marshes, A1094 (Time taken 2.15 hours) Having had a break from my walks to holiday with my family and to fit in some photography I was looking forward to walking the path again. My daughter accompanied me on this walk, it was good to have some company. We started from Snape Maltings. The Maltings are one of the world's leading center's of music as well as being an area of outstanding natural beauty. They sit beside the River Alde. We followed the Alde through Snape Marshes. This area is owned by Suffolk Wildlife Trust.  It was warm and the breeze could be heard rustling through the reeds. We passed four Egrets as we walked along.  Apart from Ragwort most of the wild flowers had gone except the hedge Bindweed which was in full bloom. From here we headed into Snape Warren where clearing of birch, pine and gorse has been taken place to recreate rare Suffolk Sa...

(Sunday 14th April - 2 miles. Route taken: From Church Lane Iken, the footpath taken was beside the River Alde through to Snape Maltings Time taken 1.00hr.). Today I had company. My daughter and grandaughter joined me for the walk. Looking across the marsh and the River Alde, Snape church can be seen in the distance. It was a sunny day although the wind kept it cool. It was good to have companions to walk and talk with. We spotted black tailed Godwits on the water but unfortunately were too far away to get any photos. It was obvious that this path was popular with walkers as we saw and passed several on our journey. My grandaughter was keen for me to take a photo of her and her mum. It seemed no time at all before we saw the famous trees among the reeds that every photography takes a photo of just before reaching Snape. First port of call on arrival at The Maltings was a snack and a drink. Once refreshed we wandered around the independant shops and galleries. Snape Maltings is famous f...

(Sunday 7th April. 3.5 miles. Route: Ferry Road Time taken 1hr 50min Todays journey was all on country lanes. It made for easier walking but the scenery wasn't so interesting. Again it was agricultural with the occasion field of pigs. As I neared Iken I came across a house called Yarn Hall and also a hill with the same name. As I turned the corner at the bottom of the hill to head into Iken there was a sign with Yarn Hall Lincoln Reds. The Licoln Reds refer to a rare breed of cow which are reared at the farm. They have won various awards including the Red Crown at the Suffolk Show in 2023. Iken is a quaint little village best known for St Boltoph's church which is surrounded on three sides by water. Previous                               Return to Index                            Next

 (Saturday 6th April 3.2 miles. Route taken: Sea wall, Butley Ferry, Sandy track, road. Time taken 1hr 45mins ) I was a little taken aback when I started todays walk, face on into the wind. The plus side was it wasn't cold or wet. Once I turned onto the sea wall the wind was blowing into my side. The track was still very rutted so hard going on my ankles. There were several more pill boxes along this section, some more intact than others. The area was very marshy with many lagoons. There were flocks of Grey-lagged geese, Canada geese and swans on these. It was good to hear and see Skylarks in flight. I did encounter a few more people on this stretch of the walk. (4 to be exact). I also saw two egrets and a cormorant. It is always good to see a sign showing I am still walking in the right direction. Over the stile and on I went. As I neared Butley the boatmen were preparing their boat for the ferry crossing. I was a little nervous about going across in a rowing boat as it was rather...